Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave's On the Ground Calhoun County series.
 
MARSHALL, MI — During Isaac Loughrige's memorial service in October 2009 in Marshall, his family was struck by the number of stories shared about the many ways he came to the aid of others, says his mother, Kathleen Loughrige. These recollections served as the building blocks for a foundation established by his family a few weeks after he was laid to rest.
 
The name of the foundation — I’ve Got Your Backs — embodies the sentiments shared.
 
“At Isaac’s memorial service over and over again his friends would always say, ‘Isaac has my back,” says Loughrige, the Foundation’s Executive Director. She is also a certified Life Coach, Contractor/Consultant for Michigan Rehabilitation Services, and a Pastor at Crossroads Church and Ministries in Marshall.
 
A football standout who went on to play at Central Michigan University, Isaac recruited his CMU teammates to participate in an informal service he launched to escort students back to their housing if they didn’t feel safe walking alone at night.
 
“There was a situation when he was at CMU when a young female student was raped while walking home alone at night. Isaac was distraught and in tears when he called me the next day to talk to me about what happened to her,” Loughrige says. “He told me that offering to walk with female students was something he could do ‘to help so that these girls don’t feel afraid and vulnerable to these attacks.’ He was always a protector of the vulnerable.”
 
There were glimmers of this drive to protect and look out for those who couldn’t long years earlier.

Back to school shoes
 
When he was 13 years old, he literally gave a man the shoes on his feet.
 
“We were walking out of church behind a gentleman whose shoes were duct taped to his feet,” Loughrige says. “Isaac saw this, ran up to the man, and asked him what his shoe size was. The man told him size 12 and Isaac took off his shoes and gave them to that man.”
 
One of the focuses of the foundation is to provide back-to-school shoes and shoes for students playing various sports. Since 2009, I’ve Got Your Backs has provided hundreds of pairs as part of its overall mission to Educate, Impact, and Inspire hope for youth in need within our communities, according to information on a fact sheet provided by Loughrige.
 
Established as a family foundation, what sets I’ve Got Your Backs apart from other foundations is that it’s smaller and collaborates directly with teachers, counselors, and community leaders, allowing urgent needs to be quickly addressed. Unlike larger organizations that require multiple approval layers and monthly meetings, Loughrige says, “We can make decisions and take action immediately,” sometimes within 24 hours.
 
The ability to be nimble is possible because the key decision-makers are Loughrige, her husband, Shawn, and their three adult daughters. They are also responsible for the creation of the Foundation.
 
After Isaac’s death, his family did a lot of huddling.
 
“We knew we needed to do something to carry on his legacy,” Loughrige says. “We were all in agreement that it had to be something that helped others. Every time we have a request come in or we’re able to give to a child or make a difference in some way, we know this would be something Issac would want to be part of. It helps to keep him alive in our lives.”
 
Direct needs, direct support
 
Individual donors and the Loughrige family provide the Foundation’s funding, which is augmented by fundraising events, grants, and donations from organizations.
 
One hundred percent of what is contributed or raised goes directly back to addressing needs including everything from fees to cover the cost of a school-mandated camp to Christmas gifts for children whose parents are financially challenged.
 
“We work directly with community leaders and teachers and counselors at schools. We may not know the kids they’re making a request for, but we’ve built these different relationships with them,” Loughrige says. “We can be most effective by working with already-established organizations.”

Teachers and school counselors request funds to provide essentials, including food, school supplies, or clothing for children in need. Some of the schools the Foundation works with have installed a Needs Box which enables teachers to name what they need and why.
 
“It gives me great joy to be a small part of doing something to help people to feel that there’s one less burden to think about like buying their kids school clothes or winter coats,” Loughrige says. “When our kids were young we were a one-income family and it was tough to make ends meet.”

This is why the Foundation also has covered the cost of sports physicals and basketball camp for a gifted player who later earned a college scholarship.
 
Graduating seniors at Marshall High School have the opportunity to earn college scholarships through I’ve Got Your Backs based on their answers to an essay about how they are making a difference to the lives of others rather than their academic performance.
 
“We want them to know that their volunteer efforts matter,” Loughrige says.
 
Isaac, she says, would approve of the way his family is choosing to honor his short, but impactful life.
 
“In 2009 my 21-year-old son contracted H1N1 and it was really bad. He was a healthy young man and a college football player who also contracted pneumonia which proved to be fatal. It was shocking and something we never expected. When you lose somebody very unexpectedly and too soon, there are no words for that and you never get over it and I don’t ever want to get over it. The way to get through it is carrying on this Foundation because we know it pleases him and we’re able to help others in his name."